Thanks For The Memories
by Marauder-In-Disguise
Summary: This is a follow on from the episode 'Repentence' and I was so excited as the plot was already there. Captain Janeway's odd reaction to a simple story of Iko's that leaves Seven and Icheb wandering what on earth they have said...


This is the fourth time that Captain Janeway has been to visit astrometrics today, since I told her about my guilt over my time with the collective. It is – pleasant to have someone to talk to. Icheb is here, but he is young and I am his teacher. He has made an effort today to do extra time and lighten my load. I am grateful but one thing he cannot do is understand my guilt or my confusion over Iko. The captain understands, I think. I know that she felt the separation from her fiancé deeply and she knows what to say.

When she comes in, she tells Icheb to go for a break. He is reluctant but we all know that he has already done more than his fair share today. Neelix has been trying to get him to go and eat something for well over an hour.

"How are you, Seven?" the captain asks when Icheb has gone. She sits on the railing around my station.

"I am fine captain, as I was two hours ago."

She smiles wryly at my attempt at humour (another lesson from the Doctor) and tries again.

"How are you really, Seven?"

"I think I will regenerate earlier tonight."

"And? There's something else."

A quality I have always found admirable in the captain is her ability to apparently know what everyone is thinking. She is not wrong now.

"May I ask a bold question, captain?"

"Of course."

"Once you knew it would be a long time until you saw Mark again, did you find that everything began to remind you of him?"

Her face is composed as she nods slowly.

"Yes. He's the one who got me hooked on coffee, so every cup took me right back to the days when we were first together. It still does. And it's not just obvious things either – Mark comes from the same state as Ensign Kim, so whenever he spoke I was reminded of Mark and the way he spoke. I won't lie to you, Seven. It takes a while for those things to stop. The memory is pleasant now, rather than difficult."

I nod.

"That is how I am affected. I find that studying the stars reminds me of things Iko told me."

"Would you like to talk about it?"

I consider for a moment.

"Do you believe it would help?"

"It does help to talk about things, Seven. Chakotay has the bridge. They won't miss me for a while."

"Very well," I murmur, pressing buttons on my panel to bring up the map of stars we were looking at together.

"Iko told me, when he was young, that he named the stars in this section of sky. He was always comforted by the reliability of them. The stars never changed."

I pointed out the stars in question.

"Would you like to know their names?"

"Of course."

"This is Pados, the warrior and this is Anella, the mother. These are her children. Anella watches over her children and the warrior watched over her. I suppose the story is comforting, is it not captain?"

She doesn't answer.

"Captain?"

She has a strange expression on her face, one that I have never seen before. In many ways, she looks exactly the same but her lip is trembling so slightly that I wouldn't have noticed had it been for the odd look in her eyes that caught my attention. When she sees me looking, she briefly closes her eyes and breathes deeply, until she appears to back to relative normality.

"Yes, Seven. Very comforting."

The shake in her voice is evident but I pretend not to notice and turn back to my panel.

"I feel better, captain. You can go, if you like. I have work to complete."

"Yes. I will see you later, captain."

Icheb wanders in a few seconds later.

"Is the captain well, Seven? She seemed distressed."

"I don't know Icheb. She seemed to be affected by the story that Iko told me."

"Maybe it made her sad, because of what happened to him."

"I do not think so. The captain did not know Iko that well."

I tell Icheb everything that we have just talked about, to see if he can pick up on something that I missed. When I am finished, he shrugs.

"You just said that Captain Janeway admitted to be affected by things that remind her of someone. You probably just reminded her of something."


End file.
